Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has welcomed a committee discussion on observations by the European Commission regarding Ireland’s draft Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
The CAP Stakeholder Consultative Committee discussed the observation letter yesterday (Friday, April 29), after it was received by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) on March 31, 2022.
Commenting on the meeting, Minister McConalogue said the exchange of views was very useful, and will help inform the DAFM’s ongoing engagement with the commission throughout the approval process.
The members of the committee, the minister said, make a very significant contribution to this process. He added:
“Indeed, today’s meeting was the 30th occasion on which this committee has discussed either the reform process or the development of the plan itself. This is symbolic of the very extensive stakeholder consultation that has taken place over the last two-and-a-half years or so.”
The minister noted that the commission’s observations were another important milestone in the process, and that the DAFM will be working through these with a view to ensuring that Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan can be approved before the summer break.
Progress in a timely manner is important to ensure that Ireland is ready to commence the implementation of the CAP Strategic Plan on January 1, 2023, according to the minister.
Minister McConalogue confirmed that his department will continue to consult stakeholders through the CAP Stakeholder Consultative Committee, and bilaterally, as the approval process unfolds. He added:
“My officials will engage very intensively with the commission services on the content of the observation letter over the coming weeks in order to provide the necessary clarifications.”
The commission is responding to submitted strategic plans by member states following an assessment by all of the relevant commission services, including those responsible for agriculture, climate and the environment.
Member states are asked to review their plans in the context of the impacts arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the need to strengthen the sector’s resilience while also achieving greater environmental sustainability.
The correspondence between the European Commission and the DAFM has been published on the department’s website, as well as the minister’s correspondence with Commissioner Wojciechowski on the matter.